"It's not about reputation,'' Portland's Scottie Pippen said. "They lost the game. It's about their reputation, too. Are we supposed to lay over as cowards? No.''

Following a brawl that started seconds after Portland's 113-111 victory over Golden State on Friday night, the Warriors' Antawn Jamison said the Blazers "have a lot of hotheads.''

"I don't think we dislike each other,'' said Jamison, who was on his way to the locker room and missed the fight altogether. "In a close game like that, there's a lot of emotion involved, and sometimes guys go over the top.''

NBA security officials have spent much of Saturday interviewing various fight participants from both teams. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that the league office hopes to announce the resulting suspensions and fines before the Blazers' home game Saturday night against Seattle -- provided it can complete its investigation in time.

Rasheed Wallace won the game on a difficult turnaround jumper at the buzzer. Closer to the basket, however, Portland's Bonzi Wells and Golden State's Chris Mills were battling for position and were still tied up after Wallace's shot went through.

As the two exchanged words and began pushing each other, the Warriors' Troy Murphy entered the fray and threw punches. the Blazers' Ruben Patterson and Murphy then began fighting, with both teams pushing each other as coaches and officials tried to restore order.

Pippen said the disturbance never should have escalated that far. "There was no reason he shouldn't let Bonzi go,'' Pippen said, referring to Mills.

The situation was made worse by fans throwing wads of gum and plastic beer bottles at the Blazers as they headed for the locker room. One man was handcuffed and subdued by four security officers. He threw gum at Wallace, sparking another confrontation with several Blazers.

One Portland player, who could not immediately be identified, started up the stairs into the stands, and a couple others, including Wallace, were trying to grab the fan.

Mills reportedly tried to get into the Blazers' locker room but was restrained.

Later, as the Blazers' bus tried to leave the arena, Mills parked his car in front of it, got out with several friends and challenged the Blazers, The Oregonian newspaper reported. The bus wasn't able to leave until Oakland police arrived to provide an escort.

In November, Blazers general manager Bob Whitsitt apologized to fans on behalf of him and owner Paul Allen after a series of run-ins with the law by Portland players.

"We have to do a better job, our players have to do a better job, we have to get it right,'' Whitsitt said then. "This is embarrassing, it's disappointing, it's frustrating. I'm sure we've got a lot of angry fans.''

Last month, Patterson was charged with assaulting his wife, less than a week after guard Damon Stoudamire and Wallace were cited for marijuana possession. The case against Patterson was dropped because his wife declined to press charges.

Stoudamire and Wallace were cited Nov. 22 after the vehicle they were riding in was stopped for speeding in southern Washington after a Blazers game in Seattle.

Earlier in November, Wells was suspended for one game by the NBA for spitting on San Antonio's Danny Ferry during a game.

Stoudamire said today that Chris Mills is truly a gangster (they went to school together at Arizona) and in college carried an automatic pistol virtually all the time. Mills was wearing a topcoat during the confrontaion in the parking lot and Stoudamire told everyone that Mills probably was carrying a gun, so no one dared to get off of the bus.

(edited by NickBockwinkelFan on 22.12.02 2349)"Well, you can't involve friendship with business. It has to be one or the other. It's either business or friendship, or hit the bricks!"--Life Lessons from "The Tao of Bobby the Brain Heenan" Uncensored 2000 preview

I've been following this story over the weekend, and I'm STILL amazed at how childish some of these supposedly-grown men can act. I understand that tempers and emotions can flare up from time to time, but something of this degree is just ridiculous.

Sam Smith (of the trib) was on the TK show today and was hilariously describing the scene. Apparently, all the Jail Blazers, when they saw the scene, dover for cover on the floor, since they presumably thought Mills was packin' heat.